The Heart's Truth
by Reese M
Summary: Every heart has a truth, it knows who it is meant to love and no matter how hard a person might fight it they will never truly be happy until that truth is accepted. Helena and Myka will figure this out as their lives move on following their goodbye in Wisconsin. Their hearts know the truth, how long before they know it too? What happens once they realize they were meant to be?
1. Chapter 1

Her name was Helena and she worked for the government, the same agency and department as Myka and Pete, which is how she truly knew them. They were her friends. She had a daughter, Christina, who died when she was eight years old while staying with cousins for the summer. Her daughter's death hit her hard and she'd struggled to come to grips with that grief. It was still the basic truth of who she really was, but at least it was the truth about Helena and not a story about Emily Lake. Nate seemed to accept what she was willing to tell him. She could tell he still had doubts, that he was still questioning his judgment about letting her into his life, into his daughter's life, but he hadn't thrown her out so maybe this could still work. She could still try for the normal life she'd told Myka she wanted.

Myka's face flashed in Helena's memory and her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. The look of hurt on Myka's face when she'd told her she'd wanted a life away from the Warehouse was not a look Helena would soon forget. Myka had looked as if Helena had struck her and it wasn't until days later that Helena realized that Myka must have heard, I wanted a life away from you. That had never been Helena's intention. If she could have found a way to have Myka in her life without the Warehouse she would have gone down that path, but there was no Myka without the Warehouse. She had no choice but to sacrifice one to distance her self from the other. Or so she kept telling herself every time she would see Myka's face that night as they said goodbye and she drove off.

It was a slow process but life after the artifact went back to normal. Helena continued working forensics as Emily Lake. Nate would drop her off nearly every morning, and she would walk over to Adelaide's school and pick her up every afternoon. She would help with homework and take the girl to her Kempo lessons; they would have dinner together and watch television, and at night after tucking Adelaide into bed Emily would slip in beside Nate while Helena wondered what the hell she was doing.

Things weren't any better in South Dakota. Myka had always had unexplainable reactions to H.G. and this time wasn't any different. The first time they met face to face in London at Atlas House, when Artie first told her H.G. Wells was a woman she'd felt a rush of excitement. She'd grown up on Wells' books and to find out that the brilliant mind behind them was a woman? How could that not excite her? Of course that excitement would pass when she walked in on H.G. holding a Tesla under Pete's chin, but even then a tingle of fangirl admiration lingered even as she drew her gun. That admiration for a woman who'd done remarkable things during a time when she would have been nothing more than her husband's property if she'd played by society's rules, seeded itself in Myka and grew with each new run in. Straight laced by the book Myka Bering started going off script when it came to H.G. Wells. She chose to believe in her when no one else would or could. And she liked to think that Helena believed in her too, because of all the people who had tried to get her to come back, it had been Helena who'd succeed. Of course it had been Helena's fault she left in the first place but that just added fuel to the fire. If Helena didn't affect Myka in the way she did, Myka would have never left in the first place.

Don't walk away from your truth, that's what Helena had told her that day in her father's bookstore. It's what Myka had wanted to say to Helena that night in the driveway of the two-car garage in suburban Wisconsin, but what came out of her mouth was fight for this hole in the sand you have your head stuck in. Helena had been an inventor, an author, and a single mother by choice in Victoria England, as much as Myka wished her nothing but happiness, she knew deep down Helena was no stepford wife. But what could she do? It was Helena's life, and Helena had a right to do whatever she pleased with it. Even if that choice was to stay with a "good man, a normal man" she didn't love just because Helena had gotten attached to his daughter.

"Wow Mykes you look like a girl!" Pete said as he watched Myka coming down the stairs at the B&B. She had on a little black dress and heels. Her hair was half pulled back and half wavy curls, and her make up was done perfectly.

Myka rolled her eyes. "You do know I am a girl, right?"

"Na, you're not a girl, you're Myka." Pete teased with a boyish grin

"Sooo," Claudia said while coming around Pete to see Myka. "Hot date?"

"Meeting an old acquaintance for drinks." Myka answered as she walked over to the coat closest to find her fancy coat. It wasn't in her own closet so she thought she might have left it downstairs. Reaching in to look for it she remembered the last time she wore it. She and Helena had gone to the symphony.

Claudia's face lit up as she asked, "Has H.G. come to her senses?"

Pete shot the young woman a look and shook his head.

Myka counted to ten before turning and saying, "Mike Madden is in Rapid City for a charity hockey game and gave me a call."

"Oh." Claudia said, not even bothering to hide her disappointment. "Well, have fun, don't do anything I'd do."

She gave her friends a smile while putting her coat on and then slipped out of the house before anything more could be said about whom she was seeing or should be seeing. Besides, Claudia was seeing what she wanted to see. Yes Myka cared about Helena, she was one of her best friends, but there was nothing to Claudia's Bering and Wells fantasies. Helena was in Wisconsin sharing someone else's life and someone else's bed.

He was sound asleep at her side. He was lying on his back, which is how he always slept, but for some reason she suddenly found it annoying. Slipping out of bed Helena picked up her dressing gown and slipped it on while creeping out of their bedroom. She went down to the kitchen and filled her electric kettle. A flicker of a smile played at her lips as she flipped the switch on it to set it to boil. Myka had been so amused the first time Helena discovered the kettle in Leena's kitchen and all it's fancy settings to boil at perfect temperatures for different teas. Helena felt a pain in her chest at the thought of their lost friend. The fact that the Warehouse could take the life of a sweet soul like Leena was just further proof that staying away was the right thing to do.

Once she had her tea Helena settled in on the sofa with an Anthony Bishop novel. She'd started reading them while in hiding with the Astrolabe because she recalled how fondly Myka had spoke of them, and discovered she rather enjoyed them. She'd actually been doing a lot of her catch up reading based on what Myka had said about this book or that author. They did seem to have a lot of similar tastes; it really shouldn't have been surprising they'd become so close so quickly.

There was a soft creak on the stairs. Helena looked up from her reading and waited. The creak was too soft to be Nate, which meant it had to be Adelaide. When the girl appeared she smiled softly. "What are you doing up sweetheart? Did I wake you?"

Adelaide shook her head as she walked over to join Helena on the sofa. "I couldn't sleep."

Helena set her book aside and wrapped her arms around the girl as Adelaide snuggled into her side. When Nate had first mentioned his daughter Helena had felt an icy cold fear run through her veins. She wasn't sure she could deal with having any kind of relationship with a child, especially a little girl who just happened to be around Christina's age. Then she'd met her, this beautiful little girl who'd lost a mother. It almost seemed like fate. "Why couldn't you sleep, sweetheart?"

"I can't stop thinking." Adelaide said honestly.

"Ahh, yes, the mind can often get away from us." Helena said as she played with the girl's hair in a soothing way. "What can't you stop thinking about?"

Adelaide was quite for a few long moments, unsure if she should say or even if she could. It took another prompt from Helena before she finally admitted, "You."

Helena's dark eyes went wide. "Me?"

"I've been going over the evidence." Adelaide said as she sat up so she could look at Helena eye to eye.

"Oh?" Helena question. "What evidence?"

Adelaide began to lay it all out. She'd noticed subtle changes in how Helena acted, and recalled moments before her friends showed up when things seemed a bit off. She even noticed things that no one else would think of like Helena, who'd complained that American sweets were to sweet for her, had sudden become rather fond of Twizzlers. She really was an observant and clever girl. Finally after laying out her observations she said, "You're sad because you miss your friend."

Helena was rather stunned. She hadn't realized she'd been showing outward signs of any kind of emotional conflict. At least not around Adelaide, but clearly she'd been mistaken. She took a moment to think about what to say to the girl before nodding her agreement. "I do miss them."

"Agent Bering means a lot to you." The girl said in a way that made it clear it wasn't a question but a statement of fact.

"She is." Helena agreed.

"You miss her most." Adelaide stated next.

Helena was getting a little uncomfortable with this conversation but she nodded. "Yes, I suppose I do."

Adelaide grew quiet and snuggled back into Helena's embrace. She closed her eyes and soaked in Helena's presence, the smell of her soap and shampoo, the sound of her heart beat, the strength and warmth of her arms. Then after several minutes of silence she spoke up again, "I really like having you here, Helena. I really wish you could stay forever."

Helena's heart was quivering on the verge of breaking. "I love being here with you, Adelaide. I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart."

The girl looked up at her and smiled. "I know you care a lot about me." But then her smile faded. "But you're not happy, Helena." Tears glimmered in Adelaide's eyes as she said, "I want you to stay even though I know you aren't completely happy here, and that makes me a bad friend."

"Oh Adelaide." Helena said softly, her voice quivering with emotion. "You could never be a bad friend to me. You're to wonderful to be anything but good."

Adelaide threw her arms around Helena and buried her face in her chest. "I want you to be happy." She said softly. "I wish you could be happy with us."

"I'm trying sweetheart." Helena said before she could edit her words.

Sad eyes looked up at her as Adelaide said, "You shouldn't have to try you should just be."

Helena didn't know what to say to that so she just held Adelaide in her arms. She had been content in her little bubble as Emily Lake, and a part of her wished that artifact had never shown up in her life. But there was another part of her, the part that had gotten excited at the thought of a possible curiosity, the part that felt a jolt of pleasure at seeing Myka again, the part that thrilled at the chase, that she wasn't sure she could keep as dormant as she first thought she could. Jane had warned her. When she'd asked for this chance at a normal life, Jane had said it wouldn't be easy. Even she hadn't been able to turn her back on the Warehouse, no matter how hard she tried for the sake of her children, she'd been sucked back in time and time again. Jane hadn't outright said having a normal life was impossible for someone like Helena who thrived off the challenges the Warehouse offered, but she'd hinted that it would take a lot of work, and a lot of heartache to find the right balance that would allow Helena the happiness and peace she so strongly desired.

Just be happy. Helena didn't know how. She'd had happy once, no, she'd had happy twice. She had known happiness in life with Christina and working at Warehouse 12 with her beloved Caturanga. And she had known happiness in the days she'd spent with Myka, in those moments when Myka's smile or laugh made her forget about ulterior motives and existence in a coin controlled by a magic eight ball.

Following her talk with Adelaide Helena tried harder to get back the content charade her life had been before the artifact, before Myka, but it was no use. Nate was starting to notice things had changed and that it went beyond no longer having sex. Then one evening while Adelaide was at a friend's they finally decided that it just wasn't working anymore. They promised to stay in each other's lives for Adelaide's sake, but Helena couldn't use them any longer to hide from where ever it was her life truly needed to be. Saying goodbye to Adelaide was one of the hardest things Helena had ever done. At one point she had to pull over because the tears were so bad she couldn't see to drive. Her heart was broken, she was lost and alone yet again, and she was afraid. She couldn't hide from her truth but she wasn't ready or willing to fully embrace it either. Snatching up her phone she dialed a number. "Hello Jane, it's Helena, maybe you were right about things after all."

"Come on Claud!" Myka called out with a chuckle from the center of the ice. "You're never going to learn if you don't let go of the wall!"

"Why are we doing this?" Claudia asked while clinging for dear life to the wall around the ice rink.

"Because we're Myka's family." Steve answered. "And she wants us to like Mike."

Claudia made a face. "I don't want to like him."

"Claudia." Steve replied. He gave her a look that said to just let it drop.

"No." Claudia shook her head. "The only reason she's dating that loser is because H.G. is playing desperate housewife in Wisconsin."

Steve rolled his eyes. "You do realize Myka isn't even…"

"That doesn't mean anything." Claudia insisted. "You love who you love, it's about the heart, not the va-jay-jay." She tried letting go of the wall only to wobble and nearly fall. Steve caught her and sighed. "You didn't know them together, Jinks. You never saw it. You wouldn't even be here if Myka didn't have feelings for H.G."

"How do you figure that?" Steve asked as he helped her to get steady on her skates.

"Myka only left because H.G. broke her heart." Claudia told him. "And she only came back because H.G. talked to her about coming back. You don't have that kind of pull with a person unless there's some deep emotional shit going on."

He couldn't argue with that. "It's their lives, Claud. All we can do is be their friends; they have to actually do the living. There's nothing you can do."

The smirk on Claudia's lips said to hell with that. She would do something; she just needed to work out what first.


	2. Chapter 2

Living on her own again had been strange after the routine of sharing a family kind of lifestyle. There was no longer a job to go to or school bell to beat or talkative dinners and bedtimes. Helena doubted her choice to move on, to leave Nate and Adelaide behind. She was angry at the Warehouse and Myka for putting her in a potion where she could no longer hide from herself. She could have been happy with simply being content; she could have been perfectly blissful, living a lie. Helena sighed as she walked down the street towards her apartment building, a large grocery bag on her shoulder and the end of leash in hand. That was just it wasn't it? She'd been living a lie. Emily Lake might have had a content life but Helena Wells wanted more, she wanted happy, she wanted to love and be loved. The question was, did Helena Wells deserve those things?

Stepping up to her apartment door Helena raised an eyebrow when Lulu, the couldn't-help-herself rescue she'd adopted sniffed and pawed at the door. Setting her shopping bag down she picked up the little white pup after retrieving the small stun device she'd made from her purse. As quietly as she could manage Helena unlocked her apartment door, gently turned the handle so it wouldn't make a sound, aimed the small stun gun and then slowly pushed the door open. Slipping inside all of her senses were on full alert as she looked around the room and listened carefully for any sound.

"You're writing again, that's good." Mrs. Frederic said from where she stood next to Helena's desk looking through some hand written pages of a new story. She smiled. "I devoured you're early works as a child."

Helena's heart was racing as she dropped her weapon hand to her side. "Mrs. Frederic."

"Ms. Wells." Mrs. Frederic said with a nod of hello.

Helena set Lulu on the sofa but the little Maltese mix hopped down and ran right over to Mrs. Frederic to investigate the new stranger while Helena stood there with arms crossed. "What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Frederic looked down at the dog with a raised brow and a glare that made her agents fumble over their words. Lulu for her part took no notice. Mrs. Frederic sighed and then turned her attention to Helena. "Jane called me. I've brought something to help."

As if on cue there was soft knock on the door. Helena turned to see a rather pretty Asian woman standing in the frame of her doorway.

"Hi." The woman said with an unsure smile. "There are groceries out here. Are they yours?"

"Yes." Helena said as she went to collect the bag she'd left in the hallway.

Unlike the cold reception she'd gotten from the first stranger this second one crouched down and smiled to greet Lulu when she came to check her out. "Well hello there. Aren't you the cutest thing ever?"

"Abigail." Mrs. Frederic said by way of greeting. "Right on time." She added while Helena closed the door after Abigail entered the apartment. "Helena, this is Doctor Abigail Cho. She recently took over the Bed and Breakfast."

Helena looked between the women. So this was who took Leena's place? She looked the woman over and didn't hide the fact that she was sizing her up. No one could replace Leena.

"Abigail," Mrs. Frederic continued. "This is H.G. Wells."

"It's a honor, Ms. Wells" Abigail said with a genuine smile and an offered hand.

Helena turned her gaze to Mrs. Frederic. "She knows who I truly am?"

"How else is she going to help you?" Mrs. Frederic asked.

Abigail let her hand fall back to her side. "You didn't know we were coming did you?"

"Help me how?" Helena demanded.

"Doctor Cho is a psychotherapist." Mrs. Fredrick explained. "She's been helping Artie with his issues. Jane and I thought we'd give her a real challenge and assigned her to you as well."

Well if she'd managed to get Artie to lie on a couch and ramble on about his issues there might be something to the woman. Helena gave her another long look over before saying, "Tea?"

"That would be nice." Abigail said. "Thank you."

"Myka!" Pete whined into his phone. "Why aren't you picking up? You're in Vancouver! There's nothing to do in Vancouver!"

"Pete!" Artie scolded from across the table. "Leave Myka alone. Hang up."

"Artie." Pete protested.

"Hang. Up." Artie warned.

In as fast a breath as he could Pete said, "Mykes call me back I can't find the Nutella!" And then he hung up. "She's the only one who knows where Leena hid it."

"She wouldn't have had to hide it if you would have stopped eating whole jars in one sitting." Claudia pointed out while slicing a banana into her cereal.

Pete pouted for a moment and then decided to try his luck raiding the kitchen again. Artie grumbled about a house full of children, then got up and left for the Warehouse. Abigail stood off a bit watching the scene and looking confused. Finally she decided to ask, "Was that really about chocolate spread?"

Claudia was still warming up to this new person who'd be thrust upon them, but she was getting better at not being openly hostile. "Nope."

Abigail ventured closer to the table where Steve and Claudia were having breakfast. She was trying her best to get to know everyone, to understand how things worked around here. She wanted to fit in, but more to the point she wanted to help. She'd been assigned to Artie and Helena, but she wanted to help the others too if she could. She'd had a bit of luck with Helena the day before so she thought she'd see if her luck held out. "May I ask what it was about?"

"Myka being in Vancouver with Hockey Mike." Claudia answered before shoving a spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

"Oh." The newcomer and still relative outsider said. She turned this over in her mind for a moment and then asked, "Why does Myka being away with her boyfriend bother him? Does he, um, does he have feelings for Myka?"

The laugh that bubbled up made Claudia choke on her cereal. Steve patted her on the back until she was able to speak. "Pete and Myka?" She laughed again. "That would be so like Donny dating Marie or Simon dating River, or Emma dating Sean or…"

"We get it." Steve said, stopping Claudia before she could list any more names that he was fairly sure Abigail wouldn't even know anyway.

"Pete and Myka are strictly BroOTP." Claudia informed Abigail.

Poor Abigail might have been able to speak freakinese but she had yet to master Claudia so Steve translated. When she understood she nodded and thanked him before turning back to Claudia. "So Pete's upset about Myka being away because he's concerned about this Hockey Mike?"

Claudia nodded, her face lighting up at the chance to explain things the way they should be. "See, Pete knows Myka and he knows that Hockey Mike isn't her One. There is only OTP for Myka and the other half of that OTP is currently AWOL. Again."

It took a moment but Abigail worked it out and then asked, "So Myka is in love with someone but it's not Hockey Mike?"

"Hell to the no it's not Hockey Mike." Claudia said. "Myka loves H.G."

Steve groaned. "Claudia."

"Oh." Abigail said, surprised. She'd been meeting with Helena once a week for about a month now and Helena hadn't mentioned being in a relationship with Myka. Though to be fair they were still talking about things pre-bronzing. "I didn't know Myka was…"

"She isn't." Steve cut in.

"She is for H.G." Claudia stated matter-of-factly.

This was kind of cheating but it would give her more insight into Helena. "And does H.G. share Myka's feelings?"

"Yes." Claudia answered. "But they're both to scared and stubborn to say anything to the other."

"Well, emotions can be pretty damn scary sometimes." Abigail said with an understanding nod.

"Or it's all in Claudia's head." Steve threw out there, which just got him a hard kick under the table. "Ow!"

If it were just in Claudia's head then she'd found a way to infect Myka with it as well. She was in a five star hotel suite with a handsome hockey player who treated her really well and was really very sweet, but all she could think was that his hands were to large, to rough. His body was too bulky, to hairy, and his smell was all wrong. The sex felt good, it relieved an itch, but it was so far from what Myka was hoping for. So what was it she was looking for? The answer forced her from the bed and out of his arms, because she couldn't face the fact that she was thinking of someone else while laying naked with the man she'd just had sex with. What she wanted was words whispered in a soft voice that washed over her like warm honey. What she wanted was the sound of a lean panther growling and purring over the grunts and groans that had filled the room. What she wanted were soft hands and long fingers, and the smell of apple scented black hair as it fanned out over her chest.

"Shit." Myka moaned as she dropped her head and hid her face in her hands.

She almost asked for a ticket to Wisconsin at the airport, but she'd gotten in the white SUV for a reason. Helena wanted a quiet life away from the Warehouse, which meant a quiet life away from her. She had done the noble thing and lied through teeth, telling Helena that if that was the life she wanted than she should fight for it. Going back there now would just hurt Helena, and herself. So she asked for a seat on the next flight back to South Dakota. Everyone was surprised when she walked into the B&B days early but they all had the good sense not to ask why. She would tell them she and Mike broke up, but later, when her mind was a little clearer. Though finding a pint of her favorite ice cream and a spoon on her night stand after stepping out of her bathroom following a long shower told her she wouldn't have to say a word if she didn't want to.

The next morning Myka groaned when she tried to roll over only to be body blocked by the body beside her. "Claudia."

"Emily Lake quit her job." Claudia said. She looked down at the sleepy woman lying in the bed beside her and waited until she saw the green of Myka's eyes before continuing. "She moved and left a P.O. Box in Dallas as a forwarding address." Then she held out an envelope. "This came for you and Pete while you were gone."

Myka sat up and then took the envelope from Claudia. Inside was a thank you note from

Adelaide. It thanked them for helping Helena find her and for helping to catch the bad guys, but mainly it was a very sweet letter asking them to look after Helena, because Helena was her friend and she would always love her, even if Helena couldn't be happy with her and her dad. Myka actually whimpered at one of the last lines, "Agent Bering, she missed you most. Please help Helena find her happy place."

"So," Claudia said with a smirk. "Want to tell me again how you and H.G. are just good friends and anything more is my head? Even a strange kid who doesn't really know you two knows you two."

"It doesn't matter, Claudia." Myka said as she folded the letter back and replaced it in the envelope. "She wants a life away from the Warehouse."

"Away from the Warehouse doesn't mean away from you." Claudia replied.

"Doesn't it?" Myka asked, and before Claudia could answer she got out of bed and walked into her bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Claudia sighed. This wasn't going to be as easy and reuniting Artie and his Dad. She could see that now, so she would have to go drastic. Heading over to the Warehouse she made her way to the section that housed things from Warehouse 12. "Ok look." She said, talking to the Warehouse. "You like H.G. don't you?" There was that sudden apple scent again. Was that the Warehouse's way of saying it liked someone? "Ok then. So help me out here. We need to bring her home." She waited for a moment but nothing happened. "Oh come on! You're the one she's mad at in the first place! Come on, throw me a bone here!"

There was a rattle a few shelves over. Claudia went to investigate and what she found made her smile. "Lets hope this works."


	3. Chapter 3

They were all gathered around Claudia's monitor staring at the object clearly displayed. It was an amulet; old, Artie said Medieval, and Germanic according to the scrolls of his archive. But it was Myka who filled in the details because she recognized the design; it had been something sketched into one of Helena's old Warehouse 12 journals. According to Helena's notes the amulet belonged to a woman from the Rhine area of Germany, an anchoress named Jutta who educated the young girls who's parents locked them in small rooms with a single tiny window and locked door. Myka explained that it was a religious practice where girls as young as eight were kept in a lockbox style room until death. These girls were said to have visions and interactions with God. A young girl named Hildegard had been placed in the cell with Jutta, and word spread of the extraordinary work Jutta did with the girl, giving Hildegard prophet level visions. As word spread more and more people brought their daughters to Jutta. Following Jutta's death, her amulet and leadership of the newly formed order of nuns was passed on to Hildegard. For centuries this was the tradition until the amulet was lost some time during the age of enlightenment.

"So what does it do?" Claudia asked after listening to Myka pull off a really good Artie styled explanation.

"According to Helena's notes," Myka paused to recall what she'd read. "It gave the person who wore it visions." Then she flushed a bright red.

"And?" Claudia pushed at the sight of red creeping up Myka's neck. "Come on, out with it."

"Well," Myka's eyes refused to look at any of them as she said, "Hildegard is said to have been a brilliant woman who did a lot of scholarly work, and that she was the first person to write about and discuss, um, well…" The rest was mumbled.

"Didn't catch that, Myka." Claudia smirked. "What was that?"

"Female orgasm." Myka said clearly while glaring at the younger woman.

"So the amulet gives you visions and orgasms?" Claudia asked, looking more than a little amused. It was like the artifact version of LSD and Ecstasy, all of the tripping and tingling and none of the nasty drug thing. She wondered why it was on Helena's personal hit list? It could be nothing more than Helena hating to loose an artifact or it could have been because it was tied to some pretty kick ass sounding women, or it could have just been Helena's sense of humor and charming flirty wiles.

"What's the down side?" Artie asked after several seconds past to allow the moment of discomfort over the word orgasm to pass. "There has to be a reason it pinged, some reason why the Warehouse thinks we need to track this down."

Myka thought about it and shrugged. "I don't know. The first time the amulet is mentioned is by an agent from Warehouse 11, and then it comes up again in Helena's journals."

"We need H.G.!" Claudia said a little to quickly.

Artie shook his head. "We don't have H.G."

"But Artie…" Claudia whined.

He gave her a look that told her to stop and stop now. "We are going to respect H.G's choice. She's done more than her fair share for us, she's been through a lot, and if she wants a life away from the Warehouse it's the least we can give her."

"I'll go through her notes again." Myka said softly. "Maybe there's something in there that will give us a place to start."

Artie nodded. "Good, I'll see what I can find here."

Claudia watched as Myka and Artie left the room. The whole point of setting this up was to bring in H.G. So if they weren't going to find and ask her, well, Claudia would just have to make it Helena's choice to help them find this thing. Not only would that bring her and Myka face to face it would remind her that this was her home, this is where she belonged, at the Warehouse with her family. Now all she had to do was find Helena and figure out a way to set up the bait. Easy. She hoped.

"You don't seem like the type of woman who scares easily." Abigail said as she sat on Helena's sofa sipping tea and watching the dark haired woman as she gently combed her fingertips through the fur of her little dog.

She had been uneasy with this whole talking to a professional busy body thing. She still recalled that in her day the study of psychology was often used by men to take advantage of women, they would use "treatments" such as corporal punishment and "medical" molestation to invoke an orgasm. She'd created a whole genre by stretching her scientific knowledge to fill in the vast creativity her mind was capable of; she knew poppycock when she heard it. So it had taken a lot for Helena to trust this woman, but she was willing to try if it helped her regain her footing in this world. "I don't scare easily."

"Then whatever your running from must be terrifying." Abigail commented.

"You know of my past." Helena said simply. "You know of the things I am capable of."

"I do." Abigail nodded. "And yes you've been trying to hide from your guilt, but that isn't want scares you."

Helena raised her brow. "If I am not afraid of becoming that dark person again what am I afraid of, Doctor?"

Abigail debated on being so up front with her own conclusions but she had learned early on not to treat Helena like a patent. After being thrown out of Helena's apartment more than once, only to be invited back through a phone call the next day, she'd learned to just throw it all out there and see what came from it. Forcing Helena into a more debateish conversation had been how they'd gotten Helena to talk through her daughter's murder. So she came right out and said, "Agent Bering."

Helena didn't even bother to hide her surprise. "Myka? Why the bloody hell would I be afraid of Myka?"

"Because I think she's the first person you've truly loved since Christina." Abigail answered honestly. "And after hearing about your romantic history I think she's the first person you've ever truly loved period."

Helena was silent. She hadn't given voice to her feelings and to hear them said so matter-of-factly by a perfect stranger was unnerving. It was true, she did love Myka, she was in love with her and that had never really happened to her before. She'd had her share of lovers and love affairs, but nothing like what she felt for Myka. Myka wasn't just in her heart; she was in Helena's very soul. So yes, Helena was scared to death of Myka Bering.

"You're trying to protect yourself, Helena" Abigail said softly. "You've been hurt so deeply that no one can blame you for trying to prevent that kind of thing from happening again, but let me ask you this and then I'll leave you alone until next week. You've spoken of the people in your life before your bronzing who cared about you the most, your brother, your teacher, and Christina. What would they want for you now? Would they want you to shy away from who you are or take this second change and run with it? Would Christina want you to linger in your fear and grief and anger or would she want you to be happy and loved and for someone special to experience the love she'd once felt?"

"You don't ask simple questions do you?" Helena asked.

Abigail smiled. "You're not the simple questions kind of woman."

Myka sat on her bed surrounded by journals Helena kept as an agent of Warehouse 12. The one open in her lap had the amulet, the others she'd just pulled out to look through. She traced the elegant script of Helena's handwriting and wondered what the other woman was currently doing. Where was she? Was she safe? Was she creating another fake identity hoping to try the whole normal life thing over again? Artie was right they should be respectful of Helena's choices, but Myka was to busy being angry with her because no matter how hard she tried she couldn't separate life away from the Warehouse as life away from her. Helena knew the Warehouse was her happy place.

The Warehouse was her happy place and all these wonderful people in her life because of it were her family, but Myka couldn't deny that something was missing. Or rather there was someone missing. Myka looked back trying to figure out when it happened but she couldn't pin point a single moment, it was all of them. Each second spent in her presence had carved a Helena shaped hole not just in her heart but in her soul too. For a moment Myka let herself go down a very scary road and ask herself a very scary question. If she could have a life with Helena would she give up the Warehouse? She couldn't bring herself to answer because there really wasn't a point in opening that can of worms. She and Helena had never once put into words what they felt for each other, and even though she had a vibe so to speak about Helena feeling the same as she did, there was no point in dwelling on something that wasn't likely to happen.

Pete knocked on the door and stuck his head in. "Any luck?"

It took a moment for Myka to shake her head clear of current thoughts so she could focus on what Pete was talking about. "Um, oh, yeah, maybe. Helena says that the amulet was last seen in a portrait of one of Henry VIII's wives, Anne of Cleves."

It took a moment but then Pete got it and said, "Oh yeah Joss Stone."

Myka looked confused. "Joss Stone?"

"Yeah, she played the homely looking one Henry wouldn't sleep with." Pete explained.

"Television show?" Myka asked, a soft smile on her lips.

Pete nodded. "So, we off to jolly ol' England?"

Myka shrugged. "I don't know. If the amulet was in England Helena would have found it easily. Lets see what Artie has come up with. I'd rather not globe trot for an artifact we aren't even sure still exists."

"Where was the last place Helena looked?" Pete asked as Myka put Helena's journals away.

"Germany." Myka answered. "There was a possibility Queen Anne had left items to her ladies and maids, the amulet could have been one of those items."

"This feels wrong." Pete said as the made their way downstairs.

Myka looked over her shoulder at him. "Bad vibe?"

"No." He answered. "It's just, well, this is H.G's thing, it was one of the artifacts she spent a lot of time tracking. It just feels wrong that she isn't here to help us finally find it."

"Pete." Myka said softly and with a shake of her head.

"I know." Pete sighed. "It's just not fair. I finally liked her and she ditched us."

"I'm sure Helena would appreciate the fact that if we find Jutta's Amulet it'll be us finishing what she started." Myka said.

Of course it wouldn't be easy finding Jutta's Amulet. Not only were they having a hard time tracking it down, but other artifacts would pop up and they'd have to go after those first since they were the ones actually reeking havoc. The amulet became a back burner project, which was fine with Claudia because she was still trying to find H.G. She had no idea her favorite Victorian was within driving distance, or that their new innkeeper drove those miles once a week to have tea and a therapy session.

"Can I ask you something?" Abigail asked as Helena handed her a cup and saucer.

"That's why you're here is it not?" Helena replied and then gave her a nod to let her know she could ask.

"Why does Myka always call you Helena while the others seem to prefer using H.G. most of the time?" Abigail asked.

The question actually made Helena smile for a moment. She loved that Myka called her Helena. The answer to Abigail's question was simple and the reason why she did love it so much. "Myka knows me, the real me. The other's have seen small flickers of Helena, but mainly they've seen the mask of H.G." She paused for a moment and titled her head slightly as she thought over what she'd just said. "No, that's not quite right. H.G isn't a mask she's more of a protective suit of armor, a barrier."

Abigail smiled, pleased that Helena would recognize that. "If H.G. is a way to protect Helena, what's Emily Lake?"

"The rock the monster hides behind." Helena answered.

"You aren't a monster, Helena." Abigail said firmly. "You were not in a stable frame of mind before or after your bronzing. You were a grieving mother trying to make sense of something far beyond senseless. You're logical puzzle solving mind simply could not understand what happened, your emotions unable to cope, your ability to act compromised. You shouldn't have been bronzed you should have been helped. All of that just festered while you were incased and when you stepped into this strange new world you were all of those things magnified. MacPherson used that to twist your point of view, to make you seen this new world in the same dark ways he did."

"I caused the death of a fellow agent." Helena snapped at her.

"It was an accident, Helena." Abigail said gently. "And you weren't the first parent to go after the people who harmed their child. You spent one hundred and ten years imprisoned; you've paid for you actions, Helena. The people who care about you have forgiven you. Time to forgive yourself. The people who care about you trust you, time to trust yourself."

Helena sat there quietly staring into her tea. Myka had said the same things to her once upon a time. She remembered how she felt in that moment; the way Myka had made her feel. She had been on the cusp of doing just what Abigail had said, forgiving and trusting, but then it had been snatched away from her somehow.

"I think the real Helena, the one Myka sees, it the one who sacrificed herself for the people she cared about." Abigail said gently.

"That never happened." Helena pointed out.

"It did happen." Abigail argued. "You might not remember it in your head because it rehappened differently, but in your heart you remember. In your heart you know why you did what you did."

To save Myka, Helena thought to herself. There could not be a world without Myka in it and she would so anything to save Myka.

"Did you think about what I asked you last week?" Abigail asked.

Helena nodded. She didn't say anything so Abigail had to ask for more. It took a moment for Helena to find the right words and then said, "Christina use to tell me she loved my smile and that she wanted me to always be happy so she could see it."

Abigail bit her lip before asking, "And what would make you smile that smile for Christina now?"

Again the answer was simple. "Myka."


	4. Chapter 4

Abigail had left her with a lot to think about. Her life had been a nasty mess of tangled delicate chains and one by one they'd unraveled them. There simply was no explanation for Christina's death; it was a tragic unimaginable random event. Perhaps if she'd been there she could have stopped it or perhaps she would have died too. If she had died so many others would have as well because she wouldn't have been there to find and stop the artifacts she'd tallied in her career. If she hadn't gone after her daughter's murders more innocents could have died at their hand. Perhaps Wolcott would have lived because she wouldn't have caused the accident that took his life, or he could have died sooner because she wasn't there all those times she'd saved his life. The bottom line was that what was done was done, her penance paid, and now here she was blessed with a second chance. All of the events that had led her to this moment had not been for the sake of H.G. Wells and surely not for Emily Lake; no this was Helena's life to live and no one else's. Now the question was what to do with it?

Helena was torn. Though she was less broken she was still far from being completely healed, and a lot of feelings about things were still a jumble, those things of course being Myka and the Warehouse. She had stood by her window looking up at the beautiful full moon and asked for a sign, a little nudge to help her decide what to do next. Someone somewhere must have heard her because when the Regent courier dropped off the mail from her post office box in Dallas there was a brown paper wrapped package with a surprisingly familiar handwriting addressed to H. Wells on the front and Not Emily Lake on the back. Inside was a book, "4,000 Years of Uppity Women." The title made her laugh. Tucked inside the book, marking page 78, was a 3x5 index card and Claudia's script stating, "A curiosity, darling." Her smile brightened as she ran her fingertip over the writing. She missed Claudia. Setting the card aside she read over the story and her eyes went wide. Had they gotten a lead on Jutta's Amulet?

Myka was home alone. Artie was, as always, at the Warehouse. Pete, Claudia and Steve decided to check out the latest movie at the drive-in. Abigail had gone out as well though Myka didn't ask where. Abigail had been asking questions Myka wasn't comfortable with, questions directly and indirectly about Helena. Questions that made Myka wonder. What would she do if Helena showed up in her life again? What would she say? She rehearsed every word in her head but each time she did the words were different. Sometimes she was angry and went off on Helena, sometimes she was just happy to see her again she let herself fall into old habits of saying nothing and smiling through it just because Helena was close. Sometimes she was even honest and told Helena everything. But those were fantasies, imaginary conversations that ended when she stepped out of the shower or finally fell asleep.

The house was quiet, peaceful. Myka listened to the snapping of the fire in the fireplace as she read. It was kind of nice; she didn't get many moments like this. She was engrossed in her book when there was a knock on the front door and it made her jump. She blushed and laughed at herself for being jumpy. "Guess I shouldn't have picked Sleepy Hallow."

Since she was home alone Myka had decided to treat herself and ordered a small pizza. So when she opened the front door she'd been expecting to see the teenage son of the owner of Univille's only pizzeria and not, "Helena?"

"Hello Myka." Helena said softly, a careful yet hopeful smile on her lips.

The two women stood there looking at each other as if they weren't quite sure what was happening. Myka was wondering if this was for real and Helena was wondering if perhaps this was a mistake. Finally after several long awkward moments Myka asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Hoping you're free for that coffee?" Helena asked nervously.

Myka looked absolutely dumbfounded. Coffee? Really? After how many months since Wisconsin and Helena just shows up asking her to go for coffee? Who did this woman think she was? What made Helena think that after everything that had happened and not happened between them Myka would just drop everything and go out for coffee with her? "Yeah, ok."

Helena's smile became a little more hopeful. They decided to avoid Univille and anyplace close enough to risk the others seeing them. Neither had a clue as to how this would play out but they both knew they wanted some privacy. Although Claudia's lure had been enticing the artifact was not why Helena had come, it had simply been the sign she'd asked for, the push she needed to take care of something far more important. "You were wrong."

"Excuse me?" Myka replied as she looked up and into Helena's dark eyes. They'd been sitting across from each other in the little coffee shop for a good ten minutes, both to lost in their own heads to start talking.

"You didn't call it wrong, Myka. I wasn't being true to myself." Helena replied. "It was easier for me to hide behind Emily Lake than it was to return and face the truth. I'd had every intention of going it alone, but then Nate happened, and Adelaide, and it was suddenly perfect. I could play act at being normal, I could get a do over, as Pete would say. It was the perfect way to hide."

It took a lot for Myka to ask because she was afraid of the answer. "What were you hiding from, Helena?"

Dark eyes looked right into green as Helena said, "You."

"Me?" Myka's eyes widened. Why would Helena feel the need to hide from her?

Helena nodded. "You see me, Myka. You see me in a way that leaves me feeling exposed, vulnerable, and real. Somehow you've managed to find a way to look at me and see my goodness as well as the darkness, and you don't shy away from any of it."

"You don't turn your back on the beautiful bird with a broken wing just because it lashes out and pecks at you." Myka replied.

"Even if it draws blood?" Helena asked. "Because I've drawn blood, Myka. I have hurt you, and I've done it more than once."

"Never on purpose." Myka said softly.

"Never on purpose." Helena agreed.

They fell silent after that. They both needed a few minutes to absorb what Helena had said. They had gone so long without saying a word about this thing between them that it had built up like water behind a dam, and instead of flooding each other, risking a complete wash out, they were going to do this in small bursts.

Myka thought about what Helena said and she began to understand. No one saw Helena, what they saw was a moniker, or Charles Wells' scandalous younger sister, or the clever girl agent, or the madness driven villain. Myka saw the woman, she saw the sweetness and charm, she saw the brilliance and naïveté, she saw the loyalty and caring, and the immense capacity to love, and most of all she saw the beautiful broken woman to frightened to reach out her hand and accept the kind of connection Myka was offering. To love Myka, to care about her, put Helena at risk of feeling the kind of pain loosing Christina had caused.

"You knock me off balance, Helena." Myka said softly. "You shake up my life in ways no one has ever been able to do. That's scary as hell. I've spent my whole life trying to make others see me as worthy of their expectations, and always just falling short. Then you come into my life and you look at me and it's as if you're looking at something…"

"Miraculous." Helena said with a smile. "Extraordinary. Wondrous."

Myka chuckled as she nodded and said, "Special." She paused a moment before adding, "I've never had to prove myself to you because no matter what I do you still look at me as if I've met your expectations and more." She dropped her head and stared into her coffee as she nervously twisted the cup in a circle. "There have been times when I thought it was all in my head. I doubted what I was feeling, what I thought you felt, I started to think that maybe I'd made it all up because all I ever wanted was someone to look at me the way you look at me."

Helena reached across the table and placed her hands over Myka's. "It was real, Myka. I do think you are all of those things and so much more."

The warmth of Helena's touch was better than the heat from the coffee cup. Myka's hands soaked in it and it quickly spread throughout her body. Looking up Myka's gaze met Helena's as she admitted, "You knocked me for a real loop, Helena. I didn't know what to make of how I feel about you, I've never, I've never felt like this about anyone, especially another woman."

Helena smirked and lifted her brow in a questioning kind of way. "Never?"

Myka blushed. "I might have had a girl crush on my Brit Lit TA in college, though that could have just been the accent."

"So it's the accent that's caught your fancy?" Helena teased.

"It helped." Myka replied with a warm smile.

Again the two fell into silence. Helena let her hands linger on Myka's for a few moments longer before pulling them away. She wrapped them around her own cup because the sudden lack of Myka's skin on her own left her feeling cold. Ok, so they've admitted there are emotions involved here. It was a good step forward. Now the question was who would be the first to put a name to those emotions, to define them and finally admit something deep ran between them.

"Have dinner with me?" Helena suddenly asked.

Myka's eyes widened with surprise. "What?"

Helena smiled charmingly. "Have dinner with me."

Myka's throat was suddenly dry and her voice was a bit squeaky as she bravely asked, "You mean like a date?"

Helena's whole face lit up. "Yes, a date. You and I on a proper date sorting this all out like proper adults."

Now it was Myka's face that was brighter than city lights. "I'd like that."

"Mykes!" Pete yelled as he made his way through the house. "There was a cold," He flipped open the pizza box and frowned. "Pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza on the porch!" Despite the face he'd just made he grabbed a slice and took a bite before yelling out, "Mykes!"

"I wonder where she went." Claudia said as she followed Pete into the living room. "Didn't she want to stay in?"

"Maybe she just went for a walk." Steve added. "Or she headed over to the Warehouse."

Pete shook his head while swallowing a mouthful of pizza. "Her car's in the drive and she would have left a note."

"You getting any vibes there, Petey?" Claudia asked.

Pete thought about Myka for a moment. "Yeah," He said looking confused. "But good ones." He shimmied a bit like he could feel something tickling his skin. "Really good ones."

Pulling up at the bottom of the drive Helena put the car in park but left the engine running. They spent hours just talking. Helena told Myka about what happened with Nate, and how she'd promised to be there for Adelaide. Myka told her about Adelaide's letter, and how she was dealing with things like loosing Leena. They didn't talk about the Warehouse that would be a topic for later. Their time together for now needed to be about them.

"You're not coming in?" Myka asked with a flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

"I need to get back to Lulu." Helena answered softly.

Myka's brow went up. "Lulu?"

Helena smiled. "My dog."

Myka smirked, "You have a dog?"

"I was never really comfortable with solitude." Helena explained as she took off her seat belt so she could reach across Myka to open the glove box. "And spending over a hundred years alone didn't help matters." She drew out a packet of papers, which she then handed to Myka.

"What's this?" Myka asked as she unfolded the papers.

Helena smirked. "The location of Jutta's Amulet."

Myka's eyes went wide. "How?"

"I worked with very nosy men who quite often liked to steal credit for the ideas of others." Helena explained. "I didn't write everything in my journals." She was smirking as she explained; "Knowing where I'd left off I was able to finally track the amulet to Budapest. Apparently during the Great Wars solders were known for taking valuables from the foreign countries they were in, smuggling them home. During the Cold War these boons were often used to help fund the cost of communist expansion. At some point the amulet landed in the hands of a young Hungarian artiest and is now part of a statue in Budapest's Statue Park."

Myka looked both impressed and a little dumbfounded. "Helena how did you…"

"The internet is a splendid thing." Helena answered, a charming and prideful smirk on her lips. "Do tell Claudia I was tempted but I'm not ready, and that I miss her too. Oh, and I'm keeping the book."

It hit Myka like a jolt and she felt silly for not seeing it before. "She found an artifact she knew you'd want to find on purpose. Helena I'm sorry. I know you wanted to stay clear of the Warehouse, we wanted to respect your wishes, but I guess…"

"Do not be cross with her." Helena said firmly. "It was getting Claudia's package that finally gave me enough courage to come to you." Reaching out bravely Helena caressed Myka's cheek and smiled. "Friday night then?"

Myka nodded as she leaned into Helena's touch. "Yeah, Friday night."

"Aces." Helena said with a dazzling smile.

When Myka walked into the B&B and caught sight of Claudia she walked over and gave the younger woman a tight, lingering hug.

"Not that I mind the affection but what did I do?" Claudia asked.

"What you do best." Myka said before heading for the stairs.

Claudia looked confused. "What do I do best?"

"You don't listen." Myka called back.

"Um," Claudia replied as she rubbed the back of her neck and then shrugged her shoulders. "Ok then."


	5. Chapter 5

Coffee had just been the start of things. Over the next several weeks Helena and Myka had been spending time together, just the two of them. They would go out and have dinner, or go for a walk and just talk, or go to a movie. Sometimes they would talk about everything and anything, sometimes they barely talked at all, and at other times they finally tapped into those thoughts and feelings to long ignored or overlooked. They were a couple tittering on the edge of something serious. They had kept Helena's close presence a secret, wanting this time to be just about the two of them, not the two of them and the Warehouse. Their secret kept Pete from walking in and cracking a joke, or Claudia giving them those happy puppy eyes, and it kept the Warehouse from throwing artifacts and world saving at them. There would be time for all of that later.

Myka smoothed out the front of her dress before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door of Helena's apartment. Helena had invited her over for dinner. Remembering the adorable look on Helena's face when she said she wanted to cook for Myka made Myka smile. That smile brightened when the door swung open to reveal Helena in a beautiful summer dress that made Myka have to mentally remind herself not to let her eyes drop. "Hi."

"Hello darling." Helena said, the light in her eyes bright and happy. This time with Myka had been more than she could have ever expected. She was quickly rediscovering that these feelings between them were worth taking risks for. "Come in."

"I've brought wine." Myka said as she held up the bottle.

Helena accepted the bottle while leaning in to place a kiss on Myka's cheek. Being more open about their feelings had led to being more open about physical contact. Before it had been brushes of hands, a comforting touch of the shoulder, or an emotionally charged but restrained hug. Now there were gentle kisses and lacing of fingers, cuddling and romantic though chaste caresses. "You must have been reading my mind again, darling. It was on my list but I completely forget all about it after arguing with the produce manager at the market."

As Myka walked into Helena's apartment for the first time she took a quick look around and the first thing she noticed was a lack of Helena. There really wasn't a lot of the woman's personal presence in the space. The only thing that really said this was Helena's space was her desk, which Myka would describe as organized clutter. "It smells amazing in here, Helena."

"Did you know that there are several channels on the television all about cooking?" Helena replied as she took the wine into the kitchen. "I've become a bit addicted, I'm afraid."

The sound of Helena's laugh drifting from the kitchen made Myka smile. Helping herself to the sofa she took a seat and was very quickly joined by a tiny white ball of fluff with the most inquisitive eyes she'd ever seen. "Oh, hello. You must be Lulu."

Helena watched as Lulu checked Myka out and then happily claimed Myka's lap as her own. "She likes you." She said with a smile as she walked across the room and held out a glass of wine. "She doesn't normally cuddle up to people like that. Though to be fair the only other people she's been up close and personal with are Mrs. Fredric, Abigail and Jane."

"Jesus Helena could you have found a cuter dog?" Myka laughed as she scratched Lulu's ear while taking the wine. "Where did you find her?"

"I was walking through the park." Helena said as she took a seat beside Myka. "They were having an adoption event and she was in a play area. She ran over to me and that was that."

Myka smiled as Lulu stretched out so her body was on Myka's lap while her head rested on Helena's thigh. "Much better than the cat."

"Absolutely." Helena agreed.

They chatted for a bit. Myka was beyond thrilled to hear that Helena had started writing again. She begged the other woman, complete with puppy dog eyes, to let her read something but Helena refused. She promised Myka could be the first to read things once they were finished, but not a moment before. It had been a habit she'd developed with Charles, making him wait for her contributions in order to make him squirm, and it was proving a hard habit to break. Myka filled Helena in on their friends. Artie and Trailer were having an argument, which meant the dog was ignoring Artie and would only take commands from one of them. Pete was working on asking the new girl at the drug store out. Claudia was spending more time with Mrs. Frederic who was teaching her caretakery type things.

Helena listened and she found herself both happy that her friends were doing well and sad because she found herself missing them all terribly, even Artie. "Claudia will make a fine Caretaker." She smiled at the thought of the brilliant, vibrant young woman taking over. "She will certainly be a breath of fresh air. Mrs. Frederic has a very similar style to Mr. Saunders, frighteningly ridge and yet oddly caring and companionate. Though Mrs. Frederic is far less stuffy."

"Less stuffy?" Myka questioned with a chuckle. "Is that even possible?"

"Well, she is American." Helena teased.

Myka's eyes sparked over the fact that Helena was talking about her past with the Warehouse. She loved listening to Helena's stories, but they still came very rarely. "And Mr. Saunders, he was 12's Caretaker?"

Helena nodded. "He was very much like that Mr. Carson from that television show you enjoy. Lovely man, really, when he wasn't frowning at me for some odd reason or another."

"Was there a version of Leena's?" Myka took the chance to ask.

"Boarding houses, yes." Helena answered. She felt no pain as she spoke of the old Warehouse and her life back then; she felt only fondness for those times, and the faded sadness of missing old friends. It made her smile. "Because we were in London we were allowed to live on our own if we so wished. I remained in my own home."

"Houses? Plural?" Myka asked.

Helena nodded. "One for single men and the other for the handful of other women."

"Ahh." Myka said with a nod as she took all that in and filed it away.

Helena smiled at the thoughtful look on Myka's face. She could almost see the other woman playing out the scenes in her mind as if watching a film. Leaning closer while turning Myka's face towards her she places a soft kiss on Myka's lips. "I should check on dinner."

While Helena was busy in the kitchen Myka walked around the apartment. It wasn't just the living room that lacked Helena's touch; it was the bedroom as well. Remembering the way Helena had made her room at the B&B all her own even for the short time she'd lived there full time, Myka had to wonder why she hadn't done more with this place. The more she looked around the more she realized this wasn't Helena's home it was just a place she stayed. Walking over to the bedside table Myka picked up a framed picture and smiled. It was a picture of the two at a restaurant in Pierre; they were smiling, happy, and looking at each other as if the other were the only thing in the world.

Helena had made an absolutely delicious ratatouille, which she followed up with Victoria sponge cake. Needless to say Myka was beyond impressed. After dinner they were sitting together on the sofa, close, sharing soft touches and gentle kisses between softly spoken words. Myka bit her lip as she watched Helena kiss the pulse point on her wrist. Because this was Myka's first venture into the realm of the sapphonic, and because they were both still adjusting to their shared emotions, they were taking things slowly. The feeling of Helena's lips on her skin sent heat through Myka's body that was getting harder to ignore.

"Helena." Myka said in a breathy voice.

"Yes darling?" Helena replied before brushing Myka's hair away from her neck.

Focus! Myka thought to herself as Helena kissed her just below the ear. "Are you happy here?"

Helena pulled back to look Myka in the eyes.

Before Helena had a chance to speak Myka clarified, "Here, alone in this apartment. There's nothing of you around here, Helena. This isn't a home."

"No." Helena agreed. "No, I suppose it isn't."

"Don't you think it's time for you to have a home again, Helena?" Myka asked as she reached up to caress Helena's cheek.

Helena knew where this was going and a huge part of her wanted to agree. She missed the Warehouse, she missed her friends, she missed being with them as a family in the B&B, but there was another part of her that still clung to the notion that she and the Warehouse didn't mix. She was still afraid that if she went back something would happen and she would lose Myka, and she was afraid that losing Myka would drive her back to the darkness and this time there would be no way out.

Myka saw the fear and uncertainty in Helena's eyes. She smiled softly as she took the other woman's face in her hands and for the first time the words came easy and freely. "I love you."

Dark eyes widened in awe. Words so simply and yet so powerful, words that had been hinted at, driven around, dangled temptingly before them, but never once uttered so clearly, so honestly. "Oh Myka." Helena said breathlessly. "I love you too."

"Then let me be your home, Helena." Myka whispered. She didn't give Helena time to respond. Leaning in Myka pressed her lips to Helena's, letting them linger there for a moment before deepening the kiss by running the tip of her tongue along Helena's bottom lip. It was a kiss full of promise and reassurance. It was the kind of kiss Myka had dreamed about having with Helena, the kind of kiss that burned worlds to cinders.

Helena was left breathless when the kiss ended. She was barely able to get out Myka's name. When she looked into Myka's eyes what she saw was comforting, exciting, hopeful and a little frightening. Myka was not just offering her a place to live; no she was offering her heart a home and a promise for maybe more. After all the uncertainty that had lingered between them for years, after living in the fog of unspoken feelings, after all the running away from and hiding from their truths, Myka was holding out her hand, offering a way out of the haze and all Helena had to do was take it. Dark eyes suddenly began to reflect everything Myka's eyes had been showing Helena less than a second before. Helena smirked as she reached up and curled her fingers around Myka's hands. She drew them away from her face, kissed the pulse point on each wrist, and then stood up. With a gentle tug Helena pulled Myka to her feet and after dropping one of Myka's hands she held tightly to the other as she led Myka to the bedroom.

She could feel the nerves fluttering around her stomach like pterodactyls but that didn't stop Myka from reaching behind her and slowly pulling down the zipper of her dress, which she let slid down her body and pool around her feet on the floor. She smirked as she watched Helena lick her lips and then swallow hard as she let her eyes move over what Myka was offering. Myka took a single step closer and that was all it took. Helena reached out putting her hands on Myka's hips, and drew the other woman close. Their bodies were flush against each other as Helena captured Myka's lips in a kiss that spoke of way to much flirting and not nearly enough touching.

It was a night full of contrasts. Sometimes it was full of desperate need to make up for lost time, and at other times it was full of slow exploration and silent promises of a life finally on track, both Helena's and Myka's. Their journey had in no way been easy but every obstacle they had to over come just made this all the more worth it. Every desperate action, every angry word, every painful goodbye added strength to the mortar used to build the foundation of what had the potential of becoming something full of more endless wonder than the Warehouse could ever hold.

Their hearts' truth was that they belonged together. In a world full of people they saw each other. Their hearts sang out across time, one waiting for the other, and only when they were united did they heal and become whole again.

As the birds outside the apartment window began their early morning songs Myka propped her head up on her hand, her below cushioned by the pillow that now smelled uniquely like her. "So," She said in a husky voice, a sexy pleased with herself smirk on her lips. "Are you coming home with me or not?"

Helena turned her head to look into eyes a darker shade of green than normal and smiled.

"Now she's doing it on purpose!" Claudia bitched as she came out of the kitchen. "Stop eating my bananas!" She grumbled as she made her way to the sunroom. She, Pete and Steve had been on a mission that got far to out of hand and hadn't gotten in until the wee hours of the morning. Myka had taken the weekend off and disappeared, which she'd been doing a lot lately, and it was starting to get to Claudia. Her failed attempts to get H.G. back had left her in a mood that was only made worse by the fact that Myka had suddenly became way to happy. Had Myka finally moved on? This was crap! How was she suppose to believe in happy endings if the two people she knew were meant to be together more than anyone else in the world, weren't together?

Claudia was still doing a rather good imitation of Artie when she stepped into the sunroom and gasped, the glass of juice in her hand falling to the floor in an explosion of glass.

"Do I still make you nervous, darling?" Helena asked from where she sat the table smiling one of her enormously bright smiles.

"H.G!" Claudia squealed as she threw herself at Helena.

The older woman barely had time to stand before she found herself wrapped in the arms of the girl she had quickly come to love as a little sister. The hug was a bit crushing and after regaining the air Claudia had knocked from her lungs Helena rasped, "Claudia love I can't breath."

"Oh!" Claudia squeaked as she let Helena go. "Sorry. Are you here about Delilah's Shears? I knew I'd find something you couldn't resist! I think I have them narrowed down to…"

"Claudia, love." Helena said gently as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled.

Claudia deflated a little. "You're back aren't you? I mean that's why you're here right? You've finally come back to the Warehouse?"

"Yes and no." Myka said as she walked in from outside.

"Watch the glass my love." Helena warned.

Myka looked at the shattered glass and quickly scooped Lulu up before she could walk on it. "Helena!" Myka scolded. "Did you startle her again?"

Helena smirked. "I still make her nervous."

Claudia stood there looking at the two women as if they were speaking a foreign language.

"There's no need to be nervous, Claud." Myka teased while walking around the table to Helena's side. She gently passed Lulu to Helena while leaning in to kiss her gently. She winked at Helena before turning towards the gobsmacked Claudia. "Here let me help you with…"

"Oh Mee Gee!" Claudia squealed as reality finally hit her. "You're together! You're together! You're together!"

"And you were worried she'd be overly excited over the idea." Helena teased Myka with a delightful laugh while watching Claudia bouncing on the balls of her feet. This time when Claudia lunged she was ready for it and managed to shift Lulu out of the way just in the nick of time.

Claudia threw her arms around both women, hugging them tight. "I knew you two would figure things out."

"Figure what out?" Pete asked as he walked in on the scene. When Claudia pulled away and he saw Helena, he smiled carefully until he caught the look on Myka's face. Seeing that she was ok with whatever this was made it ok for him as well.

Before Pete and Helena could say a word to each other Claudia announced. "Bering and Wells is canon!" Then she threw her hand out toward Steve who'd walked in behind Pete. "You owe me a hundred bucks."

"Wait," Pete said as he looked between Myka and Helena. "You two? You're like together?"

Myka nodded. "Yes."

"How together?" Pete asked.

"Helena's moved into my room." Myka answered.

There was a long pause. Myka's stomach began to knot as she waited on her best friend's reaction. It got to the point where she was afraid Pete was going to seriously disagree on this but then finally he flopped into his chair and sighed heavily. "Finally! I'm not sure I could take much more noble brooding Myka."

Helena smirked as she looked over at her lover and asked, "You were brooding over me?"

"Little bit." Myka huffed; annoyed that Pete would say that out loud.

"That's so sweet." Helena said before kissing Myka's cheek.

"Ok, so yes you're back but no it's not because of the artifact." Claudia said, needing to clarify Myka's yes and no response from earlier.

Helena nodded. "As clever as your schemes were darling I wasn't coming back until I was ready."

"And you're ready now?" Claudia asked.

Helena nodded. "I am indeed."

She couldn't help it. Claudia hugged her again. "Welcome home, Helena."

The use of her name startled Helena and it took a moment for her to return Claudia's hug. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Myka beaming at them and it helped her to relax a little more. Hugging Claudia back as best she could with Lulu still in her arms Helena said, "Thank you darling."

Lulu gave a bark telling everyone she was done being squished by all the hugging. Claudia jumped back and looked down, and her face lit up. "I've just been killed by cute."

The next several minutes were spent welcoming Helena home and it was quickly bringing tears to her eyes. Pete hugged her, Steve even hugged her, and Abigail stood off to the side beaming at her. When Myka noticed her getting teary she quietly slipped her hand into Helena's and that made her smile. This finally felt right, this felt real. She had found where she belonged, with Myka, and together they belonged here.

"What's going on in here?" Artie grumbled as he walked in and then stopped short when he saw Helena. "H.G."

"Hello Artie." Helena said nervously.

The two just looked at each other for a long moment and then Artie's face softened. For as long as he lived he would remember the way Helena had sacrificed her own life to save him, Pete and Myka. He almost smiled. "Are you back?"

Helena gave a nod. "I am."

"Oh thank god." Artie said as he dropped a stack of files on the table. "Another adult."

Helena smiled at him and this time Artie smiled back. As they took their seats around the table Helena sat between Myka and Claudia. Myka slid her hand into her own and in that moment everything suddenly become worth it. There was just one more thing Helena had to do before she could finally close one book of life so she could truly begin a new one. Stepping out onto the catwalk she looked out over the Warehouse. Closing her eyes she took a moment and took a deep breath. She smiled. "I smell apples."

"So do I." Myka said in surprise. She looked at Helena with such a look of awe that it made Helena kiss her gently.

"Wait, whoa, hold on, you can smell that too?" Claudia asked from behind them.

Helena turned and smiled as she gave the younger woman a nod.

"What does it mean?" Claudia asked.

"It means," Helena said as she took Myka's hand and smiled while looking into Myka's eyes. "We are were we belong." Then she looked at Claudia and said, "It also means the Warehouse likes you."

Myka leaned in and whispered, "Welcome home, Helena."


End file.
